Can someone tell me what i am doing wrong
mward2008
Posts: 15 Member
I am a male 51 yrs old. I work at a job where i am at a desk all day. i work out 3 to 4 times a week circuit training at a local workout facility. I weigh 220. I need to drop 20 lbs but no matter what i do, i don't loose. i did the atkins diet which didn't work for me. MFP says i should be eating 1765 calories per day so i have been tracking everything. Sometimes i won't even eat those calories and this week i am up a lb. Can anyone give me any pointers on what to do different?
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Replies
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I am a male 51 yrs old. I work at a job where i am at a desk all day. i work out 3 to 4 times a week circuit training at a local workout facility. I weigh 220. I need to drop 20 lbs but no matter what i do, i don't loose. i did the atkins diet which didn't work for me. MFP says i should be eating 1765 calories per day so i have been tracking everything. Sometimes i won't even eat those calories and this week i am up a lb. Can anyone give me any pointers on what to do different?
How much are you up or down overall? How long have you been following MFP? You may not have to do anything different other than be patient and keep on tracking your intake....0 -
If I could see your dairy I could help you a lot more but I AM 5"10 ABOUT 222.8 and I notice dropping my calorie intake from about 1850 to about 1500 a day the weight is starting to come off. I also drink about 10-12 cups a water a day. Another things is I am starting to eat a lot more fruits, whole wheat bread, lean meats, veggies and switching my exercises up weekly. I am also stop eating after 8:30 pm it is hard because I work late nights, but I GOTTA DO IT....I do sometimes have a desk job...I like to every so often do some squats, jumping jacks etc....that will help keep my heart going to burn some calories....green tea is also good, and well I hope I help you out with these few tips:)
I know everyone is different, but I know what your going through, and would like to help to get you back on track!!!0 -
I work out (swimming, biking, running) about 5-6 times a week and use a Garmin GPS watch and a heart rate monitor. If you're using the built-in calories-burned calculator, in my experience, it WAY over estimates how many calories you burn from a given activity. For example, I swam nearly 2 miles yesterday morning and my Garmin estimated it at 700 calories but if I use the built-in exercise calculator, it had me at nearly 1200. If you're trying to lose a pound a week, you need to run about a 500 calorie deficit each day so that false sense of security may be enough to keep you level or even gain weight.0
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The MFP calorie goal may be too low, it may be below your BMR. I imagine it is, since my BMR is 1580-ish and I am a 167 lb female. I was dropping below 1200 and couldn't lose a thing. Then I upped it to about 1600 (based on BMR & TDEE) and the scale is moving.
Read this thread (at least the initial post) thoroughly and follow the instructions to calculate your BMR & TDEE http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/931670-bmr-and-tdee-explained-for-those-needing-a-guide
Basically, if your calories are too low, your body is hoarding EVERYTHING it gets in, b/c your metabolism is in starvation mode. It was a hard lesson for me to learn, but I had to eat MORE to lose more. That thread should really help. My vote is that your calories are too low. Especially if you aren't even eating them all.
DON'T GIVE UP!!! You can do this!0 -
It took me a good two weeks of 100% commitment to see weight come off on the scale. Just keep at it for a few weeks. If nothing changes then, I'd recommend following it by measuring the key fat carrying parts of your body because you're probably just building some muscle.
Also, I always try to be under the amount of fat that MFP recommends just to be sure
Good luck! 0 -
It's not really about how little you eat, it's finding the range that works. You need to eat back your exercise calories, otherwise you go into too much of a deficit and then over time your metabolism slows down and you stall out. This is what happened to me, before MFP I was dieting by portion control and cardio. I dropped 50lbs in 6 months, and have basically been the same for the last 6 months. I know now that I screwed up my metabolism by eating too little and not eating back what I exercised. Now I figured out my BMR, which is 300 cals more than I was eating- I wasn't even eating enough to really keep my body going. Hence, light headed/dizzy, always hungry, tired, etc. Now I'm eating 2400, and even though I'm still not losing anything, I'm not gaining. I feel 100% better, I'm not tired, not dizzy, etc. I'm confident at some point my metabolism will even out and I'll start losing again. I have about 25lbs to lose to reach my goal, which would be 75lbs total from where I started.
There are some calculators if you search for BMR (base metabolic rate) and TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) that let you plug in your age, height, weight, and activity level, and it'll give you a general idea of what your minimum and maximum caloric intake should be each day. Then you can figure out how much less than the max to eat in order to start dropping the weight. 20lbs isn't that much, so I don't think you should target more than a pound a week.0 -
A couple months ago I started using a supplement called skinny fiber and it was a great way to get weight down. I'm down 2 pant sizes in about 2 months now I am swimming and eating healthier.
Matt0 -
The MFP calorie goal may be too low, it may be below your BMR.
There is nothing wrong with eating below your BMR.0 -
I am a male 51 yrs old. I work at a job where i am at a desk all day. i work out 3 to 4 times a week circuit training at a local workout facility. I weigh 220. I need to drop 20 lbs but no matter what i do, i don't loose. i did the atkins diet which didn't work for me. MFP says i should be eating 1765 calories per day so i have been tracking everything. Sometimes i won't even eat those calories and this week i am up a lb. Can anyone give me any pointers on what to do different?
How much are you up or down overall? How long have you been following MFP? You may not have to do anything different other than be patient and keep on tracking your intake....
^^this
How long has it been?0 -
With the amount of exercise you are getting, you likely need to eat more to kick start your metabolism.0
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Do you eat back your exercise calories? I found that, whenever I'd plateau, if I started eating back about 70-80% of the calories I burned working out, the scale would start budging again.0
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The MFP calorie goal may be too low, it may be below your BMR.
There is nothing wrong with eating below your BMR.
No there isn't... if you want to lose lean mass as well as fat.
you are eating way below what you should for someone working out as frequently as you.
just as an fyi i'm 5'11 CW 206 SW 230 (10 weeks ago) but i've gained muscle and strength while losing only fat the inches have flown off. i ate 1500 until i realised my TDEE without exercise is over 1900 i'm now eating 2500 and losing weight.
Read up on this for more info
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k130 -
Are you measuring and weighing and tracking everything you eat? Incredibly, I see posts on this site quite frequently in which people think they don't have to record everything. If you're not being accurate you won't get results.
The answer is that you're probably eating more than you think and burning fewer calories than you believe. Try this for two weeks:
--Reduce your calories to 1600. Eat healthy food.
--Exercise as much as you can, but don't worry about the calorie burn reported by the machines, they're often inaccurate. Exercise is good for your health in general, but it's not the most critical element for weight loss.
--Weigh yourself three times a week under the same conditions each time: First thing in the morning, naked, after using the toilet.0 -
The MFP calorie goal may be too low, it may be below your BMR.
There is nothing wrong with eating below your BMR.
No there isn't... if you want to lose lean mass as well as fat.
you are eating way below what you should for someone working out as frequently as you.
just as an fyi i'm 5'11 CW 206 SW 230 (10 weeks ago) but i've gained muscle and strength while losing only fat the inches have flown off. i ate 1500 until i realised my TDEE without exercise is over 1900 i'm now eating 2500 and losing weight.
Read up on this for more info
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13
That's not true. You can preserve muscle through strength training.0 -
In...
...to learn more about the numerous awesome health benefits of eating at a substantial deficit/below BMR for an extended period of time.0 -
If your profile picture is current you look to have a considerable amount of muscle mass and I would think that being a man with that type of muscle going below 1700 would not be advisable. Eat more, lift heavier?0
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If I could see your dairy I could help you a lot more but I AM 5"10 ABOUT 222.8 and I notice dropping my calorie intake from about 1850 to about 1500 a day the weight is starting to come off. I also drink about 10-12 cups a water a day. Another things is I am starting to eat a lot more fruits, whole wheat bread, lean meats, veggies and switching my exercises up weekly. I am also stop eating after 8:30 pm it is hard because I work late nights, but I GOTTA DO IT....I do sometimes have a desk job...I like to every so often do some squats, jumping jacks etc....that will help keep my heart going to burn some calories....green tea is also good, and well I hope I help you out with these few tips:)
I know everyone is different, but I know what your going through, and would like to help to get you back on track!!!
For a women that may work, but for a muscular man, dropping to 1500 would make things worse.
I would suspect a few things:
1. Not eating enough.
2. Not measuring food
3. Underlying food allergy <-- only if you have covered all other bases such as different ranges of calories.0 -
Do you cook for yourself? *can* you cook for yourself (ie, do you understand what goes into food that you might not see)
Are you putting in everything you eat? Putting in recipes to calculate real stats on them?
How are you measuring your portions? Guesstimating? Weighing? Measuring cups? Platefuls?
If you're eating food cooking for you by others, it can be really hard to judge what you're actually taking in.
This is especially, HUGELY true when you eat out. I cook a lot for my whole family, so I know what *I* put into dishes. Every time I look up restaurant calorie counts, I'm astounded by how high they are, specifically because they are SO MUCH higher than homemade versions (And I don't do "diet" cooking, either. I'm not using fake-fat foods, "frying" my sautees in broth, or any of that crap).0 -
The MFP calorie goal may be too low, it may be below your BMR.
There is nothing wrong with eating below your BMR.
No there isn't... if you want to lose lean mass as well as fat.
you are eating way below what you should for someone working out as frequently as you.
just as an fyi i'm 5'11 CW 206 SW 230 (10 weeks ago) but i've gained muscle and strength while losing only fat the inches have flown off. i ate 1500 until i realised my TDEE without exercise is over 1900 i'm now eating 2500 and losing weight.
Read up on this for more info
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13
That's not true. You can preserve muscle through strength training.
Well yeah you will retain some muscle but eating below you BMR can have adverse health implications or do you mean TDEE as i said i eat 2500 a day which is a deficit of my TDEE my BMR is 1950 and i know from experience eating below that i was tired, moody had no energy and was getting ill all the time0
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